


A Love Story

by witchkid



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23567749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchkid/pseuds/witchkid
Summary: Barbara 'Bambi' Rossi is an intern at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital for her masters in clinical psychology. It's there that she meets the sweet Doctor Shaun Murphy, and it's at the moment when things get too much for Barbara that they form a special connection.
Relationships: Shaun Murphy/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 17





	A Love Story

**Author's Note:**

> Fanfic written for a commission! I didn't get permission to @ them here, but I hope they liked it ☆

Barbara 'Bambi' Rossi couldn't be more excited.

She'd been waking up in the best of moods since finally starting her psychology internship at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. It still felt a little surreal that she'd gotten so far. She'd always loved music, so much so that when she was younger that had been the career everyone around thought she would pursue, it's a passion that made her feel whole, one that she still loved immensely, and it was the one passion that got her in this career path. She'd wanted to study the why, how come these interests, dreams, and passions could touch people so deeply and shape them so much. It was a question, a small curiosity, that good her looking for an answer and finding a whole different area to be passionate about and build a career on, because psychology fit her too, friendly and overly helpful as she was. It was hard to believe all that studying she'd done was going to be put into constant practice now. 

Drifting back to reality, she realised she'd done the whole shower on autopilot, so focused on her excitement to the point of forgetting her surroundings. With Clara's - her PSW - help, she got out of the water and changed into the clothes she'd picked out the day before, chatting about her schedule for the day as they went to have breakfast. 

"Today I should get my first assignment! I have no idea what's going to be, but we're finally going to start working after learning all the hospital rules and stuff, and I'm sort of nervous about that? Although I'm pretty excited too," she rambled on. 

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Bambi," Clara reassured, with a playfully annoyed tone. 

"You think so?" 

"Yeah you're good at this."

"I hope so." 

She took a deep breath, and did her best to let the nervousness go, willing herself to get back into her good mood through the rest of her morning routine, from brushing her teeth through doing her makeup while Clara brushed her hair, to getting out of the house, to the hospital. It wasn't so hard, to let herself lean on the excitement rather than any anxious thoughts. She wanted this, she worked hard for it, and it would be great. 

* * *

It was a good morning, the one she'd met him. She was in a good mood, her morning routine had gone smoothly, and she arrived at the hospital with time enough to make her way with no rush. 

Barbara had just entered the elevator when someone called behind her "Can you hold that open for me?" 

She distractedly pressed the button to stop the door from closing, it was a bit uncomfortable to do from her position on her wheelchair, but she liked to be helpful. The stranger muttered a soft 'thank you, I don't want to be late again' as he came in, and she smiled. 

"Oh, it's no problem," she waved him off. "Good morning!" 

He looked familiar somehow, as she took in his appearance, wondering if they've ever worked together before. As s new intern she'd met many people and didn't remember all of them yet, but he didn't look like one of them. He looked about the same age as her, and his brown hair seemed soft, but she couldn't see his eyes from the position she was in, with the way they seemed to be focused at some far away spot. 

"Good morning," even speaking louder, his voice remained soft, Barbara thought that wasn't the sort of voice she'd mind hearing more of. 

They were in silence for a moment, then it came to her. "Oh! You're that guy from that video, aren't you? The one who saved the little kid?" 

He looked surprised at the recognition, and his answer came a little off beat. "Yes. His name was Adam, he had a traumatic pneumothorax."

"That was really impressive!" 

"Thank you." 

Before she could say anything else, they arrived on her floor. "Well, this is my stop," she excused, looking back at him. "see you around!" 

Facing him from a distance she could get a better glimpse at his face, and see the blue eyes that complimented his soft features. He looked like he was about to say something back, hand half raised, when the door closed. 

It was a shame they didn't have more time to talk, she thought, he seemed sweet. 

* * *

One of her first assignments as an intern had been into organizational psychology, to interview the staff about their working conditions and plan an intervention with proposed solutions and strategies to better their workplace. At first she'd been upset about it, disappointed not to start into her preferred area, but after her first interviews, learning more about the hospital and her coworkers, she was quickly becoming passionate with the assignment. The St. Bonaventure Hospital could benefit from some changes, and she was excited to suggest them and hopeful to see some implemented. Clinical psychology might be her first love, but improving her workplace was a goal that resonated with her as well. 

So she looked over her schedule for the day, and got herself ready to go to today's section. It was a bit of an awkward process, to go position herself at a computer on the front desk of that hospital section, talk to the responsible for that department and start the employee calls, but it was interesting. 

While somewhat tiring, she liked meeting so many people. The questionnaire may be pre-set, but even then there were things to note about the different people she was working with. Some would ask her lots of questions, some would just go through the questionnaire as fast as they could, eager to finish it.

The older doctors she got to see so far were more serious, fast and efficient. There was an urgency to them, and while polite she felt some unwillingness to be doing the exercise, and imagined they preferred to be doing their work instead. The nurses varied in personality, some of them seemed as worn as the doctors, but some had been very kind, making small conversation. Much like the residents and young doctors, had tended to be more easy going and ask her more questions. The ones who had more time had been more chatty, making for some pleasant to work with. 

Of course generalizing like that wasn't accurate, she hadn't gotten to meet every doctor, nurse and resident in the hospital, and was sure they had an array of personalities she'd yet to find out, something she was looking forward to, honestly. 

Dealing with people always brought an array of emotions, it could be pleasant, awkward, uncomfortable, fun or downright awful. Her last interviewee had been rude and grumpy, asking questions, but eager to get the questions done and over, and she was hoping the next one would be nicer. 

Bambi knew It was one of those moments where the universe listened to her when she heard a polite 'Hello'. 

She looked up to find the young man from her short elevator encounter scanning their surroundings, deep blue eyes averting her face, but managing to appear polite nonetheless. 

"Hey!" she smiled. "So you're doctor Murphy." 

"Yes. I'm a surgical resident here at St. Bonaventure Hospital" 

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm a psychology intern and I'm here to answer any questions you have while answering the questions." 

As Barbara explained what he had to do and settled after getting him started, she wasn't expecting a lot of interaction, and found herself surprised actually being met with some questions he had found ambiguous, and making casual conversation while he answered. It was somewhat awkward, but she was getting the impression every talk with him was a little off beat, it wasn't a bad detail, his pauses to think of answers were charming in their own way, and being in his company was easy and comfortable. 

She found herself hoping they could be friends if they happened to see each other again.

* * *

As rewarding as the work in St. Bonaventure was, it was starting to catch up with her. 

While her supervisor and the other interns were all nice and friendly, they weren't very accommodating, and the work was fast and demanding. Breaks were frowned upon, and there was a lot to manage at once. It was stressing her out, to say the least. She needed to find a better system to balance it out, but it was a hard thing to do in the middle of the struggle to adjust. 

Barbara sighed and cleaned some tears, despise her efforts, she couldn't concentrate, all she was managing to do was get herself frustrated. She'd have to put the report she was currently writing away for the moment. 

"Tired?" Clara asked from the kitchen, noticing her clear shift in mood. 

"Exhausted. I knew being a psychologist would take some paperwork, but who knew it'd be so much of it."

"That sucks, " she made a face. "Well, maybe dinner will cheer you up a bit." 

"Maybe." 

As they sat down to eat she decided what she needed was to let herself relax for the time being, she could finish her reports later, surely she'd feel better then. 

* * *

Her first morning of clinical assignments was a fast paced affair. There weren't fixed session times, she had to go to an array of different patients, not all had their own private rooms, so she'd have to do her best to give them a semblance of privacy in their shared spaces. It was a hectic sort of organization, that worked for the hospital, and that she'd need some time to adjust to. It was no wonder that before she knew it, her lunch hour had arrived.

Barbara found her way down the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. It was fairly full at this time, hard to navigate, and she was looking for a table with some of her fellow interns when she saw a familiar mop of brown hair sitting alone. Quickly deciding to take a chance with that possible friendship, she made her way over to him. 

"Can I sit with you?" 

He looked startled when he looked up from his food, but managed an awkward sort of nod. 

Like the last time they've met, starting up conversation wasn't the easiest, but after some uncomfortable small talk they found a comfortable rhythm again, that is, until she decided to ask which type of music he liked. 

"Music? No, I don't like music." 

That was certainly not the answer Barbara expected. "What do you mean?" 

"I don't like music, " he repeated, blunt and flat.

"Like, none of it?" 

"Yes." 

She blinked at him in disbelief. "Is that even possible? Music is like, one of the best things humanity has ever made." 

"It's noisy and confusing," he scrunched up his nose.

The sight would be adorable to her any other time, had she not been so busy being baffled. 

"I can't believe this! I can't have a friend that says such blasphemy," Bambi knew she was over playing the drama, but theatrics seemed to work better than sarcasm on him and she was feeling playful. "I'm going to find some music you like, I swear!"

"I don't have a choice on this?" he asked, a small smile and light tone that excluded any chance of it being annoyed. 

"Nu-uh, I'm doing this." 

"Okay," he gave her an exasperated smile.

They didn't have much more of their lunch time, so the conversation ended up on less passionate topics, but it was nice either way. By the end of her break she had his number, and a much better mood. She was ready to take on some more work. 

* * *

She texted him one of her playlists at the end of that day, and from then on music became their little thing. They texted about other things, of course, but she'd always text him some music when she found something she thought he might like, based on all the comments he'd made so far. He did happen to like some of it, and 'Shaun approved music' was beginning to be a playlist of its own. 

She was trying not to read too much into how invested in that she was becoming. 

* * *

There wasn't anything special about the day she finally got to her limit. 

Her morning routine had been normal, her schedule was normal, there wasn't any extra work… Anything really. She'd been working as usual, and then after a difficult patient she couldn't push it away anymore. Her frustration had been building up for quite some time, as she was having a hard time adjusting to the internship, with all of it's stresses, and it was a surprise in itself she managed to ignore it for so long. Thankfully, it was close to her lunch hour, so she was able to excuse herself and look for somewhere she could be alone. 

Bambi had always been prone to crying, specially when upset or overly frustrated, she'd been doing her best to tone it down, because it wouldn't do to throw a fit at the hospital, not only because of being unprofessional in what was now her workplace, but she didn't want to risk upsetting the patients too. It was a chaotic routine, between dealing with all the different people, working on the finishing touches of the organizational project, bad news to be given, the amount of paperwork… It piled up, until the stress got too much and she found herself crying in a secluded corner. 

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice someone walking up to her until he spoke.

"You're crying," Shaun said, startling her into attention. He was standing in front of her, and she was grateful to notice that it was only him.

"Yeah, I am," she shrugged, no use denying it. 

He moved to sit next to her on the bench, looking at her, but averting her eyes. "Why?" 

"It's stupid." 

"But you're upset," his genuine confusion was validating in a way, like being upset by something stupid genuinely didn't make any sense.

"I'm just stressed I guess, ends up working at a hospital isn't very easy." 

"So you came here to cry?" 

"I wanted to be alone," she bit her lip "And I'm not really good with people when I'm upset, I snap at them sometimes." 

They sat in silence then, it was comfortable this time, and she felt calmer, there were some tears in her eyes still, but all the frustration was starting to dissipate. She even managed a small smile at the thought that he always seemed to improve her mood a little. 

"I snap at people when I have meltdowns sometimes, people don't seem to like to deal with it too," he paused, as if searching for his next words. "You can be upset with me."

It was a simple declaration, but it was sweet. It said a lot about how close they've been getting that he made the offer. 

"You wouldn't mind?" 

"No." 

"Thank you," her smile was genuine this time, and as she cleaned the last of her tears, she leaned on his shoulder, getting comfort from his presence. He tensed up at first, and she'd been ready to move, but then he relaxed, and out a tentative hand on her back. 

"You're really sweet you know that?" 

"No, I don't think I've heard that before," the sheer honestly bothered her. 

"Well, you should have, you're a sweetheart."

"Thank you. I think you're sweet too."

She wasn't blushing, she wasn't. "Why, thank you." 

Barbara wished they could stay just like that, but now that she felt calmer she knew they probably shouldn't, their lunch hour wouldn't last forever after all. Had Shaun even had lunch? She hadn't. With a sigh she moved away from him. "Have you eaten already?" 

"Not yet." 

"Hmm we can't have that, can we? A starving surgeon doesn't sound right." 

"Are you suggesting we should go have lunch?" 

"Yes, I am." 

"Okay."

She'd still need to find a better way to deal with the stresses of work, and her issues weren't really solved, but for now she let his presence calm her and lift her mood, content to worry about nothing, but the moment they were in. 

* * *

After having a breakdown at work she'd been working on finding a better balance to prevent that from happening again, it was hard, and she couldn't solve everything that bothered her at once, but a better system was a start, and her superior had been plenty understanding, offering her advice. It was a relief to have talked about it, and to know she wasn't the first nor the last intern to feel overwhelmed like this. 

"Hello, Bambi," a soft voice interrupted her thoughts, and she turned around to see Shaun standing near her, already changed out of his work clothes and ready to leave for the day.

She and Shaun had also gotten closer since then, he'd proved himself a really good friend. Their schedules didn't quite match, but they texted each other most days, and saw each other when they could, it was an unexpected, but nice, addition to her life. 

"Hey there."

It wasn't always that they saw each other before leaving, but it made her happy when they did. 

"I… I wanted to ask you something," he started, and as she took in his appearance, she thought he looked quite stiff, it made her wonder if there was something wrong...

"I'm listening." 

He took his backpack off slowly, and when he moved to take something from the inside she was surprised to find it was a flower. He twirled it on his fingers, fidgeting with it, before looking directly at her. "I brought you a flower."

For a moment, she was so surprised she almost didn't register he'd paused to look for her reaction. "Thank you," she said, picking up the flower, hope blooming on her chest. 

"You have pretty eyes, and a cute laugh. I like you a lot," a pause. "I wanted to know if… if you'd like to go out. With me." 

Barbara would be lying if she said she'd never thought about this moment before. As their friendship progressed and they became closer she caught herself thinking about him, and how adorable he was, and how sweet he was, and how she liked having him around, multiple times, but somehow she never thought this would actually happen. She'd been gathering courage to ask him out herself, because as blunt as Shaun could be, she hadn't been expecting him to actually ask her. And yet he was standing there, in front of her, messy hair, backpack dropped on his foot, fidgeting with his hands, but perfectly stiff otherwise. He looked nervous and utterly adorable and her stomach was a mess of hyperactive butterflies. 

"Are you really asking me on a date?" 

"Yes."

Her smile couldn't have been bigger at that moment. "Yes! I'd love to go on a date with you." 

Then Shaun was smiling, and she got to watch all that nervousness turn to excitement instead, as he made a happy disbelieving little sound and shook his hands. She giggled, happy he'd asked her, and happy he was happy. 

So far her work in St. Bonaventure had brought her good and bad memories alike. She'd had the moments where the job she was doing felt just right for her, she'd connected with patients, made friends, and she'd also been in bittersweet situations, and stressful ones, and sad. But this moment, simple as it was - holding a flower in an empty hallway while they both vibrated with excitement - was one she felt she would treasure for a long time. 


End file.
